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In the HBO Original documentary Jason Isbell: Running With Our Eyes Closed, the multiple Grammy-winning artist strips down the recording process, but also reveals struggles outside of the studio.
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“When I have a hard day I can’t just go home and have a drink. There’s no escape for me,” says Isbell, who has been sober for a decade, in this first look at the film’s trailer.
The film, directed by Sam Jones, largely chronicles Isbell recording his 2020 album Reunions with his band, The 400 Unit, and takes its name from a song on the critically acclaimed set. The documentary, which debuts on HBO and streamer HBO Max on April 7, also shows Isbell, like many of us, figuring out how to navigate demons the pandemic lockdown conjures up.
Also weighing in is Isbell’s wife and frequent collaborator Amanda Shires, an acclaimed artist in her own right. “Most people don’t go to work with their wife,” states Isbell, as Shires gives him feedback on how to approach some of his material and he pushes back. “You’re fighting with all these voices inside your head,” she declares.
He also examines the creative process and, as he notes, “Once you write a song, your mind isn’t focused on creating, your mind is focused on re-creating. You can only create something once and if the tape’s not rolling, you’re just sh– out of luck.”
While focusing on the making of Reunions, the documentary also examines Isbell’s childhood in rural Alabama and his years with the Drive-By Truckers. In addition to Isbell and Shires, the film includes interviews with musicians Chad Gamble, Sadler Vaden, Jimbo Hart, Derry DeBorja and Patterson Hood; producer Dave Cobb; and manager Traci Thomas.
Jason Isbell
Courtesy of HBO Max
HBO Documentary Films made Running in association with Ringer Films, Duplass Brothers Productions and Beware Doll / GraySky. It is the latest installment of the Bill Simmons-created Music Box series, which focuses on pivotal moments in music.
The documentary’s release comes as Isbell and The 400 Unit prepare to release their latest album, Weathervanes, on June 9 via Southeastern Records/Thirty Tigers
Morgan Wallen notches a ninth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated March 25), holding as the top musical act in the United States thanks in large part to the second-week success of his new LP, One Thing at a Time.
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The 36-track album tallies a second week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with 259,000 equivalent album units earned March 10-16, according to Luminate, after opening with 501,000 units, the top weekly sum for a title this year. The set became Wallen’s second leader, following 2021’s 30-track Dangerous: The Double Album. The latter places at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 (43,000 units).
Contributing to Wallen’s Artist 100 rule are a whopping 28 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, the second-most ever in a single week. Last week, he sent a one-week record 36 songs onto the chart, with all entries in both weeks from One Thing at a Time. “Last Night” leads his 28 titles on the latest list at No. 2 after becoming his first No. 1 last week, followed in the top 10 by “Thought You Should Know” (No. 9) and “You Proof” (No. 10).
Wallen extends his record for the most weeks atop the Artist 100 among core country acts. Jason Aldean and Luke Combs follow with three weeks on top apiece. Taylor Swift leads all artists with 64 weeks spent at No. 1.
TWICE re-enters the Artist 100 at No. 2, thanks to the group’s new release Ready To Be. The set opens at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 153,000 units earned. It also starts at No. 1 on both Top Album Sales and World Albums.
Plus, Miley Cyrus jumps 8-3 on the Artist 100, reaching a new high since the chart’s 2014 launch, thanks to the opening week of her new album Endless Summer Vacation. The collection arrives at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 (119,000 units), while five of its tracks chart on the Hot 100: “Flowers” (No. 1 for a seventh week), “River” (No. 32), “Jaded” (No. 56), “Thousand Miles,” featuring Brandi Carlile (No. 68), and “Rose Colored Lenses” (No. 91).
The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay and streaming to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.
A week after Morgan Wallen broke the record for the most songs simultaneously charted on the Billboard Hot 100 – 36, on the survey dated March 18, marking the entirety of his new album, One Thing At a Time – he tallies 28 on the March 25 chart, the second-most ever in a single week.
Released March 3, the set launched as Wallen’s second No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with the biggest week by equivalent album units for any album, among all genres, in 2023: 501,000 (through March 9), according to Luminate.
In its second week (March 10-16), the collection earned 259,000 units, down 48%, sparking its second week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
Wallen now boasts the two top weeks in terms of the most songs charted on the Hot 100 simultaneously. Below Wallen’s hauls of 36 and 28 entries, Drake totaled 27 on the July 14, 2018-dated chart and Taylor Swift logged 26 on the Nov. 27, 2021-dated list. As with Wallen a week earlier, Drake and Swift translated big Billboard 200 debuts into their hefty weeks on the Hot 100 in those frames: Drake thanks to Scorpion and Swift via Red (Taylor’s Version).
Most simultaneous entries on the #Hot100 in one week:36 songs, @MorganWallen, 3/18/202328, @MorganWallen, 3/25/202327, @Drake, 7/14/201826, @taylorswift13, 11/27/202125, @lilbaby4PF, 10/29/202224, @Drake, 7/21/1824, @Drake, 4/8/1723, #KanyeWest, 9/11/2122, @sanbenito,…— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) March 21, 2023
Here’s a recap of Wallen’s 28 tracks on the latest Hot 100, again, all from One Thing at a Time. “Last Night” repeats as his highest charting, a week after it became his first No. 1.
No. 2, “Last Night”
No. 9, “Thought You Should Know”
No. 10, “You Proof”
No. 17, “Thinkin’ Bout Me”
No. 20, “One Thing at a Time”
No. 29, “Everything I Love”
No. 31, “Ain’t That Some”
No. 33, “I Wrote the Book”
No. 41, “Man Made a Bar”
No. 48, “’98 Braves”
No. 49, “Sunrise”
No. 51, “Cowgirls” (feat. ERNEST)
No. 61, “Whiskey Friends”
No. 63, “Devil Don’t Know”
No. 67, “Born With a Beer in My Hand”
No. 70, “Dying Man”
No. 73, “Neon Star (Country Boy Lullaby)”
No. 74, “Tennessee Numbers”
No. 76, “Tennessee Fan”
No. 77, “Hope That’s True”
No. 80, “Keith Whitley”
No. 81, “Me + All Your Reasons”
No. 85, “I Deserve a Drink”
No. 88, “In the Bible” (feat. HARDY)
No. 90, “Single Than She Was”
No. 96, “180 (Lifestyle)”
No. 97, “F150-50”
No. 100, “Wine Into Water”
Country, pop and Americana artists congregated at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Monday (March 20) for the benefit concert Love Rising to support the LGBTQIA+ community and to oppose a slate of bills that negatively impact the LGBTQIA+ community and transgender teens.
The arena was packed, as the evening featured a bill featuring Maren Morris, Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Jason Isbell, Sheryl Crow, Allison Russell, Yola, Amanda Shires, Yola, Joy Oladokun, Jake Wesley Rogers, Wrabel, Brittany Howard, Fancy Hagood, Autumn Nicholas, Mya Byrne, Julien Baker, Shea Diamond and more. Sibling duo Brothers Osborne, who had been slated to perform during the show, was forced to back out of the performance just prior to the show, as member John Osborne and his wife Lucie were welcoming twins.
The concert also raised awareness and funds to battle a slate of anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation — particularly Senate Bill 1/House Bill 1 and House Bill 9/Senate Bill 3, which ban drag shows in the presence of minors, and transgender procedures for minors. On March 2, Tennessee’s Gov. Bill Lee signed SB1/HB1 and SB3/HB9; SB3 takes effect April 1 and is already impacting live events and queer artists in the state.
Just days after these legislations were signed, four-time Grammy nominee Russell and radio personality Hunter Kelly (who hosts the LGBTQIA-themed country music show Proud Radio on Apple Music) began working to rally a stellar slate of artists from the Nashville music community and beyond to oppose the legislation.
The evening began with a video featuring cast members of RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!, with drag performer Asia O’Hara emceeing the evening.
“Drag is not a crime,” O’Hara said. “We are here tonight to say one thing and one thing only: Enough is enough.”
In addition to the top-shelf lineup of performers on hand, drag artists were featured throughout the evening, including Nashville-based Veronika Electronika, who said, “I think it comes down to our LGBTQIA+ communities are not being afford the same protections as other groups. … If you think this stops with legislation against the trans community and the drag community, wake up!”
The evening featured repeated calls for donations (by texting “Love” to 99126) to the organizations aided by the concert, including Inclusion Tennessee, OUTMemphis, Tennessee Equality Project and the Tennessee Pride Chamber, as well as Brandi Carlile’s Looking Out Foundation. (The Looking Out Foundation doubled donations up to $100,000.) Donations can still be made at propeller.la.
Nashville mayor John Cooper surprised the crowd by taking the stage to proclaim March 20 Love Rising Day in Nashville.
“Every person, regardless of who they love, how they dress and how they identify, deserves to be treated with love and respect,” Cooper said. “We will always be a welcoming city. Let me say that again: We will always be a welcoming city. I speak for all of Nashville when I say to all of our LGBTQ+ neighbors, we are glad you are here … we must support one another by speaking up and speaking out against discrimination and hate when we see it, because we are better and stronger together.”
Here, we look at 10 top moments from the evening:
Adeem the Artist
Nonbinary singer-songwriter Adeem the Artist expressed gratitude for the organizers of Love Rising, including Russell (who backed Adeem on banjo), David Macias and Ali Harnell.
“It’s a weird juxtaposition of jubilation and fear … I live in Tennessee a state that wants to criminalize my very identity,” they said before performing “For Judas” from their latest album, White Trash Revelry.
Jake Wesley Rogers
Queer performer Jake Wesley Rogers, whose career launched in Nashville, started off by telling a story of a childhood school memory, prior to launching into the dramatic “Pluto,” including the key line “at the end of the day, you and me are both the same/ We just wanna be loved.”
“A few weeks after our test, our teacher informed us that Pluto was no longer invited. It’s one of my earliest traumas, because if you are an outsider you know how that feels … Tonight, Nashville, we realize that oftentimes our insecurity is our superpower. Take all your fears, worries and let it explode in this arena and let in all the love that you are.”
Sheryl Crow
“This is a statement about what kind of world we want to live in, living our free truth … and that we don’t let politicians inflict their fear story on any of us,” Crow said before launching into her 1996 hit “Everyday Is a Winding Road.”
She later shared how she has to explain to her sons how “some people don’t get to live like they want to because it doesn’t align to someone’s political agenda.” Crow went on to perform “Hard to Make a Stand,” and encouraged those in the audience to register to vote.
Maren Morris
After performing “Crowded Table” alongside Russell, Oladokun, Amanda Shires and more, Morris returned to the stage for a solo performance, recalling how earlier in the day, her young son visited several drag queens in their dressing rooms and delighted in watching as they perfected their hair and makeup for the show.
“Yes, I introduced my son to some drag queens today, so Tennessee, f–king arrest me,” Morris said. She went on to perform “Better Than We Found It” and then welcomed drag performer Alexia Noelle to perform “Meet Me in the Middle.”
Joy Oladokun
Brandishing a guitar emblazoned with “Keep Hope Alive” Joy Oladokun performed the hopeful “Somehow, Things Just Get Better.”
“I never thought there would be a world where I could be out loud about who I love … it’s f–king hard to live here and specifically a country that feels like it’s always attacking who you are. It’s hard not to just hide in the f–king house and I wrote this about the cyclical nature of life and how things turn around hopefully,” Oladokun told the crowd.
Cidny Bullens
While taking the stage to introduce transgender performer Mya Byrne, Bullens took a moment to share a powerful testimony of a life that includes time performing with Elton John and Rod Stewart, singing lead vocals on the Grease soundtrack, and working in Nashville with artists including Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris and more. Bullens also spoke of physically transitioning from Cindy Bullens to Cidny Bullens in 2011.
Speaking of the ream of Tennessee legislations, Bullens said, “The state of Tennessee does not support me, or any other LGBTQ, transgender, or non-binary person. They targeted us all, they targeted humanity, they targeted love. This can’t stand because we won’t let it.”
Jason Isbell
“I can’t tell y’all how happy I am to be in this room with so many good people,” he said before launching into his now decade-old song “Cover Me Up.”
“Everybody deserves to be free to love yourself for who you are. You can’t really love someone else until you love who you are, so that should be available to everyone,” he said before welcoming the Rainbow Coalition band, which had been backing the artists all night, back to the stage. He continued with a rendition of Wet Willie’s “Keep on Smilin’,” tweaking a key lyric to say, “The state of Tennessee’s playing games/ And they say that you’re to blame.”
Hozier and Allison Russell
“What an honor it is to be part of this event, and to be part of your beautiful city” the Irish-born Hozier told the crowd while taking the stage. “[Irish political leader] James Connolly once said that no revolutionary movement is complete without its poetical expression. There are so many elements of queer culture that are no less than revolutionary. In a time of fear-mongering, just standing up for who you are is revolutionary.”
One of the most powerful moments — in an evening filled with powerful moments — came as Hozier was joined by Russell to perform “Nina Cried Power,” with Russell’s fiery belting a perfect match for Hozier’s grainy, fervent voice.
Hayley Williams and Becca Mancari
Williams, known both for her solo work and with Paramore, recounted her family’s move to Nashville when she was 13, and how the community — in particular, the creatives in the LGBTQIA+ community — influenced her music and artistry. She also brought a moment of levity to the show, telling the crowd, “If you’re a drag performer — skilled, talented — I’m sure some of them wake up thinking, ‘Why did I shave my legs for this?’” Williams said, before performing Deana Carter’s 1997 hit “Did I Shave My Legs for This?”
Williams teamed with Becca Mancari for an acoustic rendition of “Inordinary” from Williams’ second solo album, Flowers for Vases/Descansos.
Russell, Ruby Amanfu and Shea Diamond
“Never let them extinguish your fire — we were all born into the same world. Nobody has the right to take your rights,” said singer-songwriter Shea Diamond. “We are so much bigger than the hate they divide us with … Trans is beautiful, and drag queens are saving the world. So in this moment, we can’t allow them to stop everything we’ve built.”
Brandi Carlile and her family, who could not be in attendance, sent in a video tribute and introduced Russell, who welcomed to the stage Ruby Amanfu to join Russell and Diamond. Together, their three illustrious voices elevated “A Beautiful Noise.”
Russell then welcomed her daughter and several friends to join them for “You’re Not Alone,” which Russell originally recorded with Carlile.
“This is circle work that we are engaged in,” Russell said. “Circles are powerful — there is no one above, no one below … every single one of us equal worthy and beautiful. There is nothing we together can’t do when we work together in these magic circles.”
We’re just weeks away from the 2023 CMT Music Awards, and the jam-packed lineup of Ram Trucks Side Stage performers were announced on Tuesday (March 21). Avery Anna, Chapel Hart, Jackson Dean, Lily Rose, Megan Moroney and Nate Smith are all set for the Ram Trucks Side Stage, which will air during the ceremony on April 2.
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Avery Anna, Chapel Heart, Lily Rose and Megan Moroney have all been honored as CMT Next Women of Country members, with Moroney vying for her first CMT belt buckle this year, as her hit song “Tennessee Orange” is up for breakthrough female video of the year” and CMT digital first performance of the year.
Meanwhile, Dean and Smith are no strangers to the Billboard charts. Dean’s “Don’t Come Lookin’” peaked at No. 3 on the Country Airplay chart, while Smith topped the tally with “Whiskey on You.”
The fan-voted CMT Music Awards will air live on CBS on Sunday, April 2, from Moody Center in Austin, Texas. This marks the first time that the CMT Music Awards have been held in Austin, after being held in Nashville for decades. Voting for the 2023 CMT Music Awards is open at vote.cmt.com. Check out the full list of nominees here.
Blake Shelton, Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, Cody Johnson, Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini and Lainey Wilson are all set to perform during the annual awards show, which is hosted this year by Brown and Ballerini.
An album coming Friday (March 24) isn’t the only new delivery Luke Combs is expecting.
Combs took to Instagram Monday afternoon (March 20) to announce that his wife Nicole is pregnant with their second child, following son Tex who was born in June. As a slide show runs of Combs, his wife and Tex, sporting a “Big Brother” t-shirt, “Take You With Me” plays.
“Joining the 2 under 2 club!,” Combs captions the photos. ” Baby boy #2 coming this September!!,” then adds, “I would have the audio turned on for this point if I was y’all.”
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The sweet song addresses fatherhood and how quickly time passes. “I got a young’un of my own/he’s too young to understand it/When he gets a little older watching the stage where I’m standing/he’ll know it’s about him when I sing I take you with me/If it was up to me we’d do everything together/ and when they’re young like/ that days like that don’t last forever/So every chance I get, you best believe I take you with me,” Combs sings.
The 18-track Gettin’ Old hits this week and in addition to “Take You With Me,” includes Combs’ 15th No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, “Going, Going, Gone,” as well as new single, “5 Leaf Clover,” and a rare cover from Combs of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.”
Combs’ fellow artists were quick to offer their congratulations, including Chris Lane, who wrote, “congrats y’all! Buckle up…it’s wild,” as well as Cole Swindle and Ian Munsick, who sent best wishes.
The reigning Country Music Assn. Awards entertainer of the year starts a world tour March 25.
Liz Thiels, public Relations professional and former Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum executive, died on Sunday (March 19) following an extended illness. Thiels was 78.
Thiels was born in Alexandria, Louisiana in 1944. She attended the University of Southwest Louisiana in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, where she majored in advertising design. She later worked as a reporter at a daily newspaper in Louisiana, and served as press secretary for U.S. Congressman Speedy O. Long.
Thiels moved to Nashville in the late 1960s and worked as an account executive for Holder, Kennedy & Co. Public Relations. In the 1970s, Thiels became a partner in Nashville’s Exit/In music venue, helping to showcase artists including John Hiatt, Billy Joel, Steve Martin and Linda Ronstadt. In 1974, Thiels was named director of public relations at Sound Seventy Corporation, where she helped broaden the career of Charlie Daniels, as well as his annual Volunteer Jam concerts. In 1979, Thiels co-founded Network Ink, Nashville’s first PR firm specific to the city’s music industry. She became the company’s sole owner in 1985, representing artists including Clint Black, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Kathy Mattea, Brooks & Dunn and Guy Clark.
In 1981, Thiels also started public relations efforts for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and was heavily involved in the capital campaign that helped finance the museum’s move to its current location in downtown Nashville. In 2001, she closed Network Ink to join the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum as its vice president of public relations; she retired as a key member of its executive team in 2015. Along the way, she helped raise the Country Music Hall of Fame’s profile and spearheaded numerous museum events, including the annual medallion ceremony, which is held to induct new members of the Country Music Hall of Fame.
In November 2008, Thiels was honored during the museum’s annual Louise Scruggs Memorial Forum, which honors music industry leaders who represent the legacy of music business manager Louise Scruggs. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has honored Thiels’ love of gardening by now including a fresh herb garden onsite, the Liz Thiels Hillbilly Garden, which provides ingredients for the museum’s restaurant.
“Liz Thiels elevated and enhanced the profile of country music in countless ways,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, in a statement. “She was the consummate music business publicist — heading her own firm (Nashville’s first to concentrate on music), and also expertly guiding public relations for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, first as a PR consultant and then as a staff member, for a total of more than three decades. A vital figure in the museum’s successful move in 2001 to downtown Nashville, she was instrumental in strategizing for our growth and crucial in positioning the museum as both a key fixture in Nashville’s music community and an institution of national stature. I can’t imagine where the museum would be without her many years of wise counsel.”
As her song “Tennessee Orange” reaches the top 20 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, Megan Moroney is gearing for the release of her debut major label album, Lucky (May 5). Plus, she’s set to follow her recent Pistol Made of Roses tour (and an upcoming summer slot opening for Brooks & Dunn) with a headlining tour of her own.
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In a nod to her album, the Sony Music Nashville/Columbia Records artist will launch her 22-city The Lucky Tour in September, starting with a Sept. 20 show at New York City’s The Bowery Ballroom. The trek will also include Moroney’s first headlining stops in Chicago (Joe’s on Weed St.), Los Angeles (Troubadour), New Braunfels, Texas (Gruene Hall) and a tour-wrapping concert at Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta on Nov. 10.
Tickets and VIP packages will go on sale Friday, March 24 at 10 a.m. local time at meganmoroney.com. Additionally, in select cities, Moroney’s fan club will have access to an exclusive presale beginning Wednesday (March 22) at 10 a.m. local, with the code JACKPOT.
See the dates for The Lucky Tour below:
SEPTEMBER20 | New York City, NY – The Bowery Ballroom21 | West Springfield, MA – The Big E22 | Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts23 | Washington, D.C. – The Hamilton28 | Saint Louis, MO – Delmar Hall29 | Indianapolis, IN – 8 Seconds Saloon30 | Chicago, IL – Joe’s on Weed St.
OCTOBER13 | Los Angeles, CA – Troubadour14 | Bakersfield, CA – Buck Owens’ Crystal Palace19 | Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater20 | Salt Lake City, UT – The Grand at The Complex21 | Grand Junction, CO – Warehouse 25 Sixty-Five25 | Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom26 | San Diego, CA – Moonshine Beach27 | Las Vegas, NV – Stoney’s Rockin’ Country
NOVEMBER2 | New Braunfels, TX – Gruene Hall3 | Houston, TX – Warehouse Live Ballroom4 | Dallas, TX – The Studio at The Factory
DECEMBER7 | Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl9 | Charlotte, NC – Coyote Joe’s10 | Atlanta, GA – Buckhead Theatre
It’s telling that one of the most emotional moments during the Country Radio Seminar came when Darius Rucker and Brad Paisley led a large cast of artists in a cover of Prince’s “Purple Rain” at the close of the Universal Music Group Nashville (UMGN) showcase at the Ryman Auditorium on March 14.
Just the day before, Garth Brooks had addressed the divisiveness in modern America and encouraged country broadcasters to use their place at the microphone to bring people together: “Unify. Find common ground. Amplify our similarities instead of our differences.”
In “Purple Rain,” the assemblage demonstrated what that looked like, bridging genres and backgrounds to deliver a song that obliquely embraces connection as the world comes to an end. The arrangement included fiddle and Dobro, a significant cross-format augmentation of a song with anthemic pop/rock qualities. Rucker and Dalton Dover brought Black voices to the performance, notable in a genre that went decades with Charley Pride as its lone African American star. And covering Prince meant that Paisley — who had performed a dark track about opioid addiction less than a half-hour before — was now playing an extended guitar solo on a tune originated by a man who had died of an opioid overdose.
Just as important was the mass of people onstage: Vince Gill, Tyler Hubbard, Parker McCollum, Kassi Ashton, Sam Hunt and Catie Offerman were among those lined up behind the lead voices. And while most of the nation has regained some level of normalcy after the pandemic, every sign of people feeling safe to get together remains heartening.
A year ago, CRS attendees were chided for slow-moving charts and a lack of individuality. The format hasn’t changed significantly since then, though a committee is working to resolve those issues.
Meanwhile, 2023’s three-day conference, based at the Omni Nashville Hotel, found programmers in seemingly better spirits. Some 57% of country listeners believe the music is better than it was just a few years ago, according to a NuVoodoo study. Even 52% of consumers who have been country fans for over 10 years — the kind of listener most likely to complain that current music pales in comparison with the good old days — say the new music is better. Jacobs Media president Fred Jacobs, in a “Fred Talk” titled “The Future Ain’t What It Used To Be,” also noted that 62% of respondents in a 2023 survey cited their appreciation of the on-air talent as a motivating factor for listening to AM/FM. That exceeds the 55% of respondents who cited the music as a contributing factor to their radio consumption.
Stations would be wise, Jacobs suggested, to develop on-air talent that successfully connects with the audience.
As technology becomes ever more dominant in daily life, it appears that interactions with people have greater value. Syndicated Audacy personality Josh “Bru” Brubaker, a Los Angeles-based 26-year-old whose radio background and TikTok skills have built a following in the millions, said in an “Okay Boomer” panel that simply being real goes a long way.
“Vulnerability and relatability has never been more important to our audiences, especially in Gen Z,” he said. “That’s something that we’ve been doing in radio ever since it’s been around, so play on our strengths. I think we overthink a lot of things. But those core things are what Gen Z is looking for. And we can use that to reinvigorate our audiences.”
That word “reinvigorate” is important, given that time spent listening to radio has dropped since the advent of streaming services. Brubaker recalled meeting a young fan who asked him, “What is radio?”
The medium, once dominant in American entertainment, faces a crowded field that includes audio and video streaming, satellite radio and broadcast and cable TV, plus streaming TV services and online games. The future will only grow more complicated.
Automobiles, where radio once dominated, are undergoing significant change. Jacobs showed images of pillar-to-pillar dashboards that manufacturers are designing with more in-car options than ever. FM radio, he noted, will need to up its visual game — taking advantage of logos and other graphic opportunities — to remain appealing to commuters. But AM radio faces a much bleaker future with the accelerating shift toward electric vehicles. The engines create interference problems, and AM is increasingly being booted from car interiors. Jacobs cited Ford specifically, though news site Axios indicated in a March 13 story that eight automakers — including BMW, Mazda, Tesla and Volkswagen — have dropped AM radio from their electric cars.
“After hanging around with automakers for the past 15 years, I don’t think they give a shit,” said Jacobs. “I think they’re going to make whatever they’re going to make, and AM radio is not a part of the future for them.”
One other change that could create structural issues for broadcasters is the adaptation of subscriptions. Detroit is toying with recurring payments, Jacobs said, that would bill owners monthly for heated seats, map updates or driving assistants. And he believes over-the-air radio could become yet another optional service rather than a standard feature.
Country’s future, as always, was on display at CRS. Mackenzie Carpenter infused ultra-Southern phrasing in the hooky “Don’t Mess With Exes” during the Big Machine showcase. Avery Anna fielded a tuneful kiss-off with “Narcissist” on Warner Music Nashville’s lunchtime stage, and Offerman applied a warm, intimate voice to the confessional “I Killed a Man” at the UMGN show.
Programmers were encouraged repeatedly during CRS panels to take risks and “think outside the box.” Much of the industry, it appears, is of a mind to simply make the box larger. The genre’s widening cultural representation and increasing blend of music styles suggest that country and its real-world stories have the potential to fulfill Brooks’ challenge, to become a unifying voice.
Whether that potential is fully realized is a question that can only be answered in that uncertain future.
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Barroom heartbreak country from Jake Worthington, jam band energy from Boy Named Banjo, a hard-charging confessional from Bailey Zimmerman and sophisticated balladry from Erin Kinsey are among the best country songs debuting this week. Check out these and more of our new favorites below.
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Jake Worthington, “State You Left Me In”
Former The Voice contestant Worthington has earned praise (and a publishing deal) from Brooks & Dunn’s Ronnie Dunn — which is aptly placed, given Worthington’s pure Texas drawl. Worthington’s latest song, which he wrote with Roger Springer and Timothy Baker, is hearty heartbreak country. She’s left for Cabo, while he still resides in the (emotionally shattered) state she left him in. While the influence of staunch country traditionalists such as George Jones and Tracy Lawrence are apparent, he manages to bring his own nuances to wringing the anguish out of every note.
Erin Kinsey, “Always Never”
With a strikingly pure tone — lyrically and vocally — Kinsey conveys the story of a couple struggling to sustain a relationship that’s not meant to be. “You blame it on feelings changing, I blame the dreams I’m chasing/ Neither one of us wanted to say it, but boy it’s never not been fading,” she sings over this dream-pop haze of a track, which she wrote with Sarah Buxton and Josh Kerr.
Bailey Zimmerman, “Religiously”
Zimmerman follows a string of solid singles like “Rock and a Hard Place” with this tear-jerker of a track that finds him taking solace in an old church pew, in a last-ditch effort to soothe the hurt of losing “the only woman who was there for me, religiously.” Despite this artist’s relatively tender age, he brings emotional heft and authority to the throes of heartbreak here, especially on self-recriminating lines like, “You were all about us, I was all about myself/ What kind of man would lose a woman like that?”
Haley Mae Campbell and Julia Cole, “20 Something”
South Carolina-raised Campbell and Texas native Cole forged a friendship in Nashville’s writing rooms, and now team up for this festive tribute to youthful years of fun-fueled late nights, gallivanting and making new friends — because, as they put it, “memories ain’t going to make themselves.” The duo brings a spry verve and synergy that belies the wisened perspective of lines such as “Raise one up to all the mistakes made in the name of being young/ ‘Cause growing up’s good for nothing.”
Boy Named Banjo, “Whiskey Dreams”
Amid the breakneck, banjo/mandolin/harmonica-fueled and seriously wrought instrumentation that has become their calling card, this collective of musicians — Barton Davies, William Reames, Willard Logan, Sam McCullough, and Ford Garrard — depicts a scene of whiskey-drowned worries. “One shot will just stop the hurtin’/ Two will put a smile on your face,” they sing, crafting an enticing invitation to take the moments of nadir and drink them blurry.
Warren Zeiders, “Pretty Little Poison”
Zeiders’ raw, papery vocal rips into this grizzled track he wrote with Ryan Beaver and Jared Keim. For others, alcohol, pills or some alternate vice might fill a need, but he takes a clear-eyed stance that he’s easily swayed by a momentary lover and old memories. “She’ll probably be the death of me/ But damn if it ain’t sweet,” he sings. Zeiders came to the country music forefront on the strength of songs like “Ride the Lightning,” and his latest offers an early look into his upcoming summer album.
Madison Hughes, “You or the Whiskey”
This ambient track, which Florida native Hughes wrote with Rich Deans (with production from Justin Weaver), finds Hughes pondering if an encounter with a charismatic, attentive guy at a bar will amount to more than a whiskey-fueled heartbreak in the making. Florida native Hughes’ delightfully husky voice is underpinned by an understated, yet hook-driven melody, offering high hit potential.